


This World's Not Tame (Alignment)

by WoffWoff



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Kinda, Multi, Shapeshifting, Spirits, ninja families
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-05-28 08:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6322588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WoffWoff/pseuds/WoffWoff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world, which is caught between paranormal and normal beings, spares Naruto the typical life for someone like him- as a spiritually afflicted kid harboring a demon inside him, he was supposed to be taken away and hidden from the world, or worse. But luckily, he ends up in the right town, where the people are more accommodating to spirits, and he's adopted into Iruka's care and given the chance to live his life.</p><p>But as he gets older and the subject of his misery is brought up again, he's forced to face the truth. The rest of the world is nothing like Konoha, and he and the people he cares for become targets as both spirits and humans renew the age-old fight for control in the world.</p><p>Characters and warnings added as they appear, and the rating's gonna climb up!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Found

**Author's Note:**

> Iruka brings what he believes is an injured boy to the hospital, but soon finds himself in contact with the paranormal.
> 
> =
> 
> FIC SUMMARY UPDATED!!! ;u; i hope y'all like it and i hope it keeps relating to the story because i wasn't sure how to sum up all of this lmfao
> 
> but okay I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS IT'S BEEN IN THE WORKS FOR A WHILE  
> please ask any questions and leave any comments, i always enjoy what you all have to say! <333

The little girl sitting across from Iruka couldn’t have been more than 12 or so. By that age, kids learn it’s rude to stare, right? Well this one certainly hadn’t. Her large, brown eyes were nearly burning holes into him, and Iruka had enough experience with the unfiltered and honest minds of children to know that the self-conscious feeling prickling across his skin was was justified.

When Iruka did occasionally look up from the dated magazine he was using mostly as a prop, the girl’s eyes connected right with his. She didn’t look anywhere else. Most kids stared at the smooth scar running right across his face. Almost all of them asked about it. He could understand that. But this one...she wasn’t saying anything.

She wasn’t really off the hook herself; Iruka noticed she was covered in scratches and dirt stains, first of all. Not the normal wash-and-a-bandaid kind kids get from playing outside-- these looked malicious, as if something with tiny claws had a personal vendetta against her. A cat, was Iruka’s first thought, but what cat really ever roughed up a child like that? The dark dirt and what Iruka hoped wasn’t blood was so ground into her pink shirt, it was clear she’d actually been _attacked_ by whatever did this to her.

The second thing that alerted Iruka was that she was here in this waiting room alone. It was 5:30 in the morning when Iruka arrived at the hospital, and the young girl had already been sitting in her seat when Iruka was told to sit and wait. There was no one else in the waiting room. A few couples and single adults had come by to visit family or friends, some Iruka even knew and waved at (or flipped off, in Genma’s case-- good-naturedly of course), but none spared the girl a second glance.

And that meant she wasn’t from around here.

Iruka was running out of pages in his magazine. He had a lot of questions, but his night-turned-morning had already been a little on the wild side, and between increasingly worrying about two separate children in this hospital right now and knowing he had a class of nearly twenty children to teach in an hour, he wasn’t so sure how much more his mind could take.

“Iruka,” _Finally!_ “Could you come over for a second?” At the sound of Dr. Nara’s voice, Iruka stood and made the short walk into the hall. He didn’t look back, but he could feel the little girl’s eyes following him.

“Shikaku-”

“I can see how tense you are, but don’t worry,” Shikaku shrugged with one shoulder, “he’s fine.”

“Oh my god,” Iruka laughed nervously, relieved. “Shikaku, I-” His eyes caught movement across the hall, where a large man with white hair was stepping out of Shikaku’s examination room. “Who...who is that?”

Shikaku respectfully nodded at the man. He watched him walk down the hallway, and once he was out of earshot, Shikaku cleared his throat and stepped closer to Iruka, lowering his voice. “You know that was some state you found the kid in, right? I don’t think any other kid would’ve been...okay, like that. But, this boy was _more_ than okay.” He cocked his head to the side, brows lowering seriously. “I was in the middle of stitching him up, and it was like suddenly he didn’t need it. All those cuts, just gone. Blood coming out the head? Just _stopped_. He wasn’t complaining about any pain anymore, his fever was gone, and the strangest part were those eyes. Trust me, that boy’s eyes are a bright, bright blue but he’d blink sometimes, or I’d move too fast, and they’d be _red_.” Shikaku didn’t wait for Iruka to say anything. “So you’ll have to forgive me for calling in a Mediator when I see things like that.”

Iruka broke his eyes from Shikaku’s and peered around the doctor’s body to look at the Mediator down the hall again. He was pacing. The man had red lines like tears running down his face. There was a large scroll strapped to his person. Iruka could feel a dull pressure in his head, he wasn’t sure if he was getting a headache or was about to pass out. “Is he…?”

“Iruka?”

Iruka folded his arms, tight. “Is he, something? Or can they get it out? Like, a possession?”

Shikaku shook his head. “I’ve asked him questions, he doesn’t have family. Or doesn’t remember them, at least.” He waited for Iruka to look up at him again. “I know you’re worried, but he’s got a lot of safe options. That Mediator over there takes in kids like that.”

“And then what?”

“Raises them. Educates them. He’s got a _lot_ of success stories.” Behind them, the early morning autumn chill crept in with the opening of the automatic doors. Shikaku gave Iruka’s shoulder a squeeze. “You can see him, if you want.” He left his side, headed for the guests at the hospital’s entrance. “You both can follow me, she’s right this way.”

Iruka felt Shikaku pass him by, but he looked up out of curiosity when the other two men walked into the waiting room after the doctor. They had their backs to Iruka, but he could see one had white hair (another Mediator?) and another had black hair, in some kind of close cut or something. He didn’t stay for much longer, but he did hear Shikaku tell that girl in there that the guys were detectives, and they wanted to ask her some questions.

The Mediator looked at Iruka only briefly as he entered the exam room. Iruka didn’t look at him, in case the action invited questions. He closed the door behind him, slowly. Shikaku was right- the boy looked completely fine, a shocking and eerie comparison to how he looked when Iruka found him in the street behind his apartment. He had the rounded face of a young child, free of all of the alarming bruises and blood. His eyes were open, clear and blue, not sealed shut against pain. His dirty, shredded clothes were in a small pile on the floor, abandoned for the one-piece medical gown. He needed a bath, at the most. He was picking at the band aids at his wrist, where Shikaku most likely drew blood for testing.

“You shouldn’t mess with those,” Iruka started, but the lecture died in his throat when the boy looked up at him. “I’m Iruka,” he began properly. “What’s your name?”

“Naruto.” He began swinging his feet. “I remember you. You brought me here.”

“That’s right, you looked really bad.” Iruka pulled up a chair in front of the examination table. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

Naruto nodded. They sat in silence for a while, a small clock on a wall ticking away. There was a tension, not between them, but about something that wasn’t being brought up. Iruka wasn’t sure what to talk about first: he knew the Naruto had spoken to the Mediator, but about what? And what would Naruto decide to do? And Iruka would be the biggest idiot in the world if he didn’t know Naruto had _something_ to do with the girl that was out there.

“That girl out there...is she okay?” Naruto spoke so quietly, less confidently than even the few words he shared before. He stopped swinging his feet.

Iruka nodded. “She’ll be fine.” He wondered what the detectives were asking her, and hoped that Shikaku had stayed in the room. “Naruto...do you know what happened to her?”

“Yes.” Naruto pulled his legs up, crossed them, and teetered to slip his hands under his bottom. He was nervous. “I did it, but I didn’t mean to!”

Iruka watched the boy’s eyes start to water. He just didn’t know how he was supposed to keep in mind that this kid was also not just a kid.

“I was running and she was there. I run when people scream at me most of the time but this time I was really mad so I ran to her.” Naruto let out a shuddering breath. “I hit her and she hit me back and it kept happening but then she kicked me in my head.” He held a hand to his forehead as if he was feeling the pain again. “I heard more voices so I ran again, and I was just really mad, and then I couldn’t see, and I hit a lot of trash cans I think-”

“That’s when I found you.” Iruka caught up. “I heard you, outside my apartment. All the trash cans had fallen over and you were on the ground.”

Naruto shrugged and nodded silently.

“You don’t remember more?” Iruka offered his hand. Naruto took it with both of his own and squeezed, grateful. “There’s detect- uh, someone...else might ask you about this.”

“That man with white hair asked me about it.” Naruto nervously messed with Iruka’s hand, bending his fingers two at a time absentmindedly. “He told me a demon is in me. He said that’s why I don’t remember.”

“Oh...” Iruka stared at the mess of blond hair as the boy was too preoccupied staring at their entwined hands.

“I don’t remember getting a demon in me.” Naruto covered Iruka’s hands with his own, slowly, gently, as if he was scared of hurting him. “I think that’s why I hurt that girl. But I didn’t mean it. The man said he was gonna teach me to be better, but I don’t know if I want to leave with him.” His eyes were pleading.

“Naruto…” Iruka’s resolve was breaking. He was barely an adult at 22 years old. He was an assistant student teacher and he lived in an apartment Naruto most likely couldn’t grow up in. He had minimal spirit restraint training, but...but this boy needed him, needed someone. All the spirit kids did, like the ones Iruka had grown up with, like Mizuki- they needed a chance to be treated like they weren’t monsters. And maybe Iruka wasn’t cut out to provide Naruto with that, but he certainly didn’t want the boy to go off on his own with a Mediator; that life was too lonely and isolated for a child.

Iruka’s thoughts were tangling in a web. Behind him, there was a rapping at the door that snapped him out of his brooding. He didn’t pull his away from Naruto as the door opened, and the two detectives stood in the doorway.

The tall lanky one with white hair spoke first. “I’m Inspector Hatake and this is my partner, Gai.” Behind him, the sturdily built man with the dark bowl cut held up a hand in greeting. “We’re just here to ask the boy some questions.”

Naruto’s hold on Iruka’s hands tightened. He sniffed quietly, eyeing the two detectives warily. Iruka stood up now. “I’m his guardian. Can I stay for the questions?”

“Of course,” Hatake took his seat in front of Naruto, stretching back to shut the door.

“You are Umino Iruka, right?” Gai pointed at Iruka, who nodded affirmatively. “Dr. Shikaku told us you’d found him and taken him in.” He moved to lean his back against the door, folding his arms. “Could you please tell us about that?”

 

Iruka told them everything, how he heard the racket outside and went to investigate. He’d found Naruto dirty and injured, and rushed him to the hospital. He’d been there ever since. The detectives asked Naruto where he was from, what he was doing, and if he was still hurt. They asked both of them about the Mediator, about the girl, and about the creature dwelling in Naruto’s body. As Naruto explained how the demon had affected him, Hatake sat up straight.

“I’m familiar with this particular spirit, Naruto,” he addressed the boy directly. “I think, with the right help, you won’t have to worry about hurting yourself or anyone else again.” His dark eyes found Iruka’s. “If he’s to stay with you, either myself or another qualified spirit restraint will be visiting your home weekly. We wouldn’t be there long, but for a child so young with such a potent creature living inside him, we need to be sure he’s developing alright and keeping himself strong. I’m sure you understand.”

Iruka nodded. He was familiar with what happened to people who failed to keep spirits within them unchecked.

Gai joined in optimistically, “Eventually, the demon will lay dormant with no problems,” he winked as a smile began to split Naruto’s face, “and Naruto here may eventually be able to subdue it enough so it can be safely removed!”

Naruto’s grin faltered. He looked up at Iruka, who raised his eyebrows at him questioningly, and turned his head to face Kakashi. “So...does this mean I can stay with Iruka?” Kakashi nodded quietly. Naruto flew off the examination table and latched himself at Iruka’s middle. Iruka hugged him back, laughing at the excited yet unintelligible wails and exclamations rushing from Naruto’s mouth. At the door, Gai chuckled happily until a pressure at his back made him step away.

“Oh, excuse me, detective…” Shikaku took one glance at Iruka and Naruto and smiled. “I see things have worked out?”

Hatake stood, and nodded politely at the doctor. “I’m convinced Naruto meant no harm to Tenten, and I’m sure Gai agrees when I say any further investigation isn’t necessary.”

“Tenten?” Naruto turned from Iruka. “Is that the girl outside?”

Shikaku buried his hands in his lab coat pockets. “Yes. She’ll be okay, by the way.” His eyes glanced between Iruka and the inspectors. “She has no family either, but the very generous Haruno family will be taking her in; the family’s been on adoptive listings for years now. I placed the call and left a message. Tenten should be in her new home later today. She’s getting rest in one of the recovery rooms right now.”

“The Haruno are a lovely family,” Iruka commented. “Hopefully, Sakura won’t mind not being an only child anymore.”

“We’ll be finding that out soon, now won’t we? And if she does mind, trust me, we’ll _definitely_ be hearing about it.” Shikaku laughed. “Are you going into work today, Iruka?”

With a drop of his stomach, Iruka’s eyes flew to the clock. His class started two hours ago! “I-I...no, you know what…” He heard the doctor and the detectives laughing at him a little bit. “It’s...probably for the best. I can help Naruto get settled in.”

“We’ll be on our way.” Detective Hatake parted the door to let Gai leave first. He started to leave but turned halfway, finding Iruka’s eyes again. “I’ll see you around, then.”

Iruka part nodded, part bowed respectively. “Thank you for your help, detective.”

“You can call me Kakashi,” the man spoke as he disappeared around the door.

Shikaku clapped his hands and pointed at Naruto. “I’ll be back with some clean clothes that fit you, and then you can be on your way home.” As he left the room, Naruto lowered himself to sit on the floor.

“What is your work?”

Iruka smiled down at him. “I’m a teacher- er, I _will_ be, I’m still kind of training.”

“Ew.” Naruto scrunched up his face.

“Hey!” Iruka plucked him at the ear. “You’ll still have to go to school, too, you know. So you’d better get used to it.”

“Am I going to the school you teach at?” Naruto asked him. He watched Iruka nod.

Leaving the hospital with Naruto close to his side was both relieving and horrifying to Iruka. He had a young boy he was responsible for, and that wasn't even the scariest part. Not only was he to look after Naruto, but he was also going to become familiar with the demon that plagued him, of that Iruka had no doubt. As reassuring as the detectives were, Iruka wasn't going to completely rule out an accident or two. He didn't regret his decision, he just had a lot to take in. On the drive home, Naruto fell asleep in the back seat, slumped to the side with his mouth hanging open. The sun was a little weak in the late autumn day, and Iruka made a mental note to get Naruto a coat as soon as possible as they made their way from the car to his apartment building.

 

While Iruka made a simple brunch for the both of them, Naruto explored the apartment. He took in his new home, filled with books, magic stones, and interactive tablets, shouting such clever questions for Iruka to answer like "Is this mine? What does this do? Can I eat this? Are these really yours? Can I eat _this?_ "

When Iruka finally withdrew from the kitchen, plates in both hands, he found Naruto looking out a window beside the couch. Setting their food down at the coffee table, Iruka kneeled beside him.

"Is that the school?" Naruto was pointing at a large brick building at the far right of his view.

"That's right," Iruka ruffled his hair. "Kids go there from first to final year, so you'll meet all kinds of friends." He guided Naruto to the table, and the speed and aggression in which the boy made his meal disappear was nothing short of supernatural. Iruka made another mental note to make more food for Naruto next time. And to not forget about the coat.

As Naruto settled down to sleep beside Iruka (after a fighting attempt at bathing the boy that left the both of them rather exhausted), he seemed restless. When Iruka crossed the room with the intentions of cutting the lights, Naruto stopped him. “Will I be okay there?”

With folded arms, Iruka read Naruto’s face. Nervous. Self-conscious. Vulnerable. There was no trace of that demon anywhere. “Of course, I’ll be there. _And_ there are other kids there just like you, not many, but enough that you won’t feel left out.” He loved the flash of excitement that flitted over the boy’s expression. “As long as you behave yourself, I don’t see why you won’t be perfectly alright at the academy.”

With that, the light went out, and Naruto was sound asleep before Iruka made it back and burrowed under the covers himself.


	2. Schoolhouse Bout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “As long as you behave yourself, I don’t see why you won’t be perfectly alright at the academy.”
> 
> Jinx, Iruka.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so this chapter is a tad introductory, i'm bringing in more of the other kids and kinda trying to get a feel for how they interact with one another! i'm sorry if it's slow, but stick with me! also, writing fight scenes is so damn hard!  
> enjoy! more notes at the end!
> 
> questions, comments, and kudos are super welcome! ;u;

“Hey! Move!” Naruto shouldered his way through the small congested crowd in the courtyard. “ _Move_ , that’s my friend in there! Lee!” With one particularly rough shove, Naruto finally broke through the wall of students and stumbled into the interior of the circle, where he saw his friend squaring off against a much larger kid. “Lee, you’ve got this!” Naruto threw up a fist, prompting the other students to begin cheering as well.

Inside the circle, a boy with orange hair and black eyes growled at Lee, “You have no idea how easy this is going to be for me.”

“You keep talking,” Lee’s brows furrowed and his fists clenched. He could hear Naruto, over all the others, egging him on, and adrenaline started coursing through him. “That’s what got you into this in the first place.”  
  
At the boys’ taunts, eager shouts and hollers erupted from the crowd. In a flash of motion, Lee and the other boy shot at each other. The circle of students around them burst into a buzz of excitement. The boy’s fist, almost suddenly _freakishly_ larger in size than before, seized the entire front of Lee’s forest green sweatshirt. Someone shrieked and someone else fled from the interior of the crowd, but the remaining students only grew louder. Undeterred, Lee drew back and swiftly brought up a leg, knocking his knee into the boy’s wrist to loosen his grip. Just as he was swinging his arm back, a voice that definitely was not a student’s, broke through the jeers and shouting.

“ _What_ is going on here?”

 

* * *

  


“You get a free period and _this_ is how you spend it? Fighting?” Iruka’s lunch sat unpacked but untouched on his desk; the boys in front of him had cut his break down to nothing. Exhausting of lecturing, he sighed. “I’m _very_ disappointed in you boys, all three of you.” Iruka looked at three faces he’d watched change little by little through the years.

The boys in front of him weren’t children anymore, and with their faces hardened only by essay deadlines and their bodies slouched unmannerly in the short row of seats in front of him, they definitely weren’t adults either.

He pointed his first two fingers accusingly at Lee and Jugo. “You two are seniors now and I expect you to be models for your younger peers.” He raised his eyebrows at the orange-haired boy. “Jugo, you’ve gone two years without an incident here at school and you let something this petty get to you like that?”

“I’m sorry, sensei, I just...I just got so _angry_ .” Jugo wrung his hands miserably. “I didn’t want to fight like that, but,” he closed his eyes, head hung in defeat. “It just felt like I _needed_ to.” He added, shamefully, “I lost control.” He raised his head to look at Lee. “I’m sorry, Lee.”

Beside him, Lee sat with his arms crossed across his chest defiantly. Jugo waited for him to respond, but Lee didn’t speak. He stared intently at the floor.

On Jugo’s other side, Naruto looked between the two and Iruka expectantly. Part of him wondered if Iruka would force Lee to accept Jugo’s apology. Another part of him wanted Lee to keep up his stubborn act.

With a dismissive shrug, Iruka seemed to give up on waiting for Lee to respond. “Jugo, you can go.” Iruka watched the boy leave his classroom and close the door gently. Then, he folded his arms and trained his eyes on Lee.

“Sensei-”

Iruka cut him off. “You know this doesn’t help your record at all.”

Lee blinked before sitting up indignantly. “He hit Naruto then insulted the rest of my friends.”  
“You’re a good kid, Lee, a _great_ kid. But you put your energy in the _wrong_ things.” Iruka leaned forward and folded his hands on his desk. “I want you to graduate, I _know_ you can, but this constant fighting is threatening your graduation privileges.” He waited, bouncing his leg impatiently, thinking of what to say next. “I’m not going to call Gai this time, and honestly I should speak to the headmaster. But starting tomorrow, you’ll be joining me for lunch for a while.”

Lee gave a polite nod to Iruka, picking with the collar hem of his sweatshirt. He wasn’t really enthused with the idea of missing lunch with his friends, but the last thing he wanted was for Gai to know he got into another fight. He thanked Iruka and headed for the door.

“And bring your books!” Iruka called after him as the door nearly shut. “Naruto.” His disappointment was evident as he turned to face the boy. “It’s junior year. _What_ are you thinking?”  
“I don’t know...” Naruto had been trying to prepare for his turn while Iruka dealt with Jugo and Lee. It had been really easy to feel in the right while the other two were present, but now that Iruka was addressing him alone, he couldn’t find it in him to lie. “It was just fun!” Iruka was deadly silent. That was definitely the wrong thing to say. “I just wanted to help!” Naruto felt the regret come in waves. He knew Iruka wasn’t buying it at all. He tried one last time, “I’m supposed to support my friends, right? You say it all the time.”

It was always a low blow to try and use Iruka’s words against him, but Naruto was backed into a wall, here.  
Iruka’s laugh lacked its typical warmth. “You think _that’s_ support? Naruto, supporting your friends doesn’t mean blindly following them into every case they throw themselves in. Lee’s behavior is getting him into a lot of trouble and if you really want to support him, you’d be a better example for him.” Iruka’s arms parted to free his hands, and they gestured around distractingly as he continued. “Aside from that, you know it’s dangerous putting yourself in those kinds of situations. If something were to make you-”

“I know!” Naruto spat furiously. He took a breath before looking up at Iruka. He knew the man only wanted to help, but he truly hated the constant talk about the demon inside of him. It made him feel different, and he wanted Iruka to know he could do the same things as everyone else without putting anyone in mortal danger. “I know.” He repeated, voice lowered.

Iruka’s hands retreated into his pants pockets. “We can talk later.” He shrugged with one shoulder. “At home.” There was a quick and almost musical rapping at the classroom door. Iruka stood from his desk and moved to let his next class in. He clapped Naruto on the shoulder on his way to the door. “You should get to lunch.”

 

* * *

 

  
Tenten stared at Lee, who still hadn’t touched a morsel on his plate. It was wildly unlike him. She looked past him to make a face at Neji, who shook his head. She sucked her teeth and tried to ask once more, “Lee, could you just tell us what happened?”

He remained uncharacteristically silent.

Before she could give it one last real final shot (because Tenten never gave up so easily), she was distracted as Naruto approached the lunch table. “Well _there_ you are, what kept you so long?” Beside her sat Lee, still silently fuming, and then Neji, who was fruitlessly prodding at Lee to talk to him. On the other side of the table, Gaara and Sakura left a space between them for Naruto to take.

Naruto pulled a face as he sat down. “Iruka had me, Lee, and that big orange-haired guy in Funeno-sensei’s class in his room ‘cause of a fight-”

Tenten immediately rounded on Lee. “So that’s what happened, you got in _another_ fight?”

On Lee’s other side, Neji folded his arms, deep concern marking his face. Lee dismissively reached for his water bottle and started downing it in place of talk.

As everyone’s eyes fell on him next, Naruto quickly tried to explain the situation. “Look, we _barely_ fought! No one even got _hit_ before he caught us!”

Lee stood to walk his untouched tray to the trash can. “I didn’t even do anything this time, and that guy started it in in the hallway when he hit Naruto with a book.” He angrily headed for the opposite side of the cafeteria.

“And a huge one!” Incensed, Naruto clarified the rest of the story. “Just because I bumped into him!”

“So you ignore him,” Neji told him simply.

“Oh, yeah, like _you_ would’ve.” Naruto rolled his eyes and picked up his sandwich. “No- I told him to try it again, and Lee backed me up, but then he started talking about you guys too, and Lee wasn’t having it, so they took it outside!” He bit into the sandwich and continued with a full mouth, “What’s that kid’s _problem_ , anyway?” 

Beside him, Sakura shook her head. “That boy has a temper, I’ve heard about him.”

Tenten nodded. “And not just a temper.” She looked at Naruto pointedly. “He’s not completely alright, and you had to have noticed that.” She watched his brows lower a fraction and added, “He’s got a spirit affliction too, and you of all people should understand that.”

Naruto sat back. He remembered that when he was watching the fight, Jugo’s fists seemed to grow super large at one point. “Yeah…” He started opening his carton of milk, but messed up the tab. Gaara wordlessly reached over took it from him. “And Iruka didn’t miss the chance to mention that, too.” His milk carton was returned, perfectly opened on the other end. He punched Gaara on the shoulder gently in thanks. “He said I shouldn’t be fighting because of, you know-”

Sakura turned to face him. “And he’s right! Spirit afflictions aren’t something you take lightly. No one knows what kind of effect it could have on you.”

“But the thing hasn’t done anything in years, and it’s still being brought up!” Naruto wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“It’s not something you can just ignore, Naruto.” Tenten argued. She pointed at Gaara when the boy nodded in agreement. “See?”

Gaara was like Naruto in that he had a demon manifest itself in him when he was little. Gaara’s family denied the help of both spirit restraints and Mediators, and Gaara ended up being unable to control the demon’s effect on him. He’d told Naruto that his aggression drove him to hurt other people, or worse, and now, with his spirit levels managed, he could actually be around other people. It was still a struggle keeping the demon under wraps because it had been allowed to manifest so far in the first place, but generally everyone understood and respected what Gaara was going through. He was the one person Naruto could really talk to about the things he went through, from physical exams to being barred from certain parts of town because his spirit levels were too high for safety levels.

“Sasuke!” Naruto brightened as Sasuke quietly made his way over to their table.

Sakura raised a hand in greeting at her friend. “Were you fighting, too?” she asked him, suspiciously.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he set his tray down gingerly between Naruto and Gaara’s. “I had to finish a test, sorry it…” his eyes wandered briefly as Neji curtly left the table, “took me so long.”

Naruto watched dismally as silence overtook Sasuke. Lee finally returned to the table, and looked around in confusion when he noticed Neji’s absence. When he spotted the boy already halfway across the caf, he looked at Sasuke, and then Tenten.

She wasn’t finished with him. “Lee, I’m serious, don’t-” She started, but he quickly jumped from his seat to follow the other boy.

“Neji, wait up!” He caught up to his friend quickly. The two left out the cafeteria’s side door that opened to the courtyard.

Tenten clenched her fists together, glaring after the both of them. “He’s not going to keep running away from this,” She muttered mostly to herself. She rolled her eyes and let them be, finishing off her juice. “One day, he’s _really_ going to get in trouble.”

 

* * *

 

  
Naruto pulled at his scarf and shivered down to his toes; it had gotten ridiculously cold in the later half of the day. He looked over at Sasuke, who’d been walking quietly beside him. “You think it’ll snow soon?”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed at the ground in confusion. He glanced at Naruto, shaking his head, then locked his eyes back to the ground, watching his feet step one in front of the other. “It’s the middle of Autumn.”

The other boy shrugged once. “I know, but you know how sometimes it snows early?”

Sasuke sighed in exasperation, baring his teeth for a second. “No. It’s way too early for snow, idiot.”

Naruto laughed. Sasuke got worked up so easily. His phone pinged him for an incoming message and he pulled his phone out, feeling Sasuke’s eyes on him briefly.

 _**forehead:** _ _are you walking home with sasuke?_

 _yeah,_ Naruto thumbed out a short reply. _wh y?_

_**forehead:** oh no reason, ;) good luck _

Naruto felt his neck and his face and the back of his neck prickle with heat; it wasn’t much of a secret that he and Sasuke had grown considerably close the past two years. Especially since their elementary and middle years were filled with what started as friendly competition but evolved into a nearly antagonistic campaign for acknowledgement. Those trying years had been filled with a tension no one, not even the boys, really understood, but the underlying pull they felt between each other led to them putting aside whatever imagined differences they thought they had-- and in the wake, they found a peace that made that rough patch seem so dark and unsettling, and almost unreal.

Naruto and Sasuke both knew that that time wasn’t just something to forget, and if they were honest, they still tiptoed around it, but the new connection between them stayed unidentified out of...something like fear, as if they were worried about addressing what was different and bringing back whatever had happened between them.

It was something unnamed and something Naruto didn’t quite feel comfortable asking about with his other friends, so it often bordered a romantic line both of them actively avoided in case it was true. It wasn’t that it was bad, not in Naruto’s opinion, but it was something that was too new and sudden for Naruto take over their current status (whatever that was).

Naruto typed out reply after reply to Sakura (“ _STOP_ ,” “ _it’s not like that_ ”, “ _nothing's going to happen_ ”), but deleted each one. He wanted them all to be true for now, but they all seemed so transparent to him.

Beside him, Sasuke tentatively asked, “Hey, Naruto?”

Naruto looked over, relieved to have a break from his poor drafts. “Yeah?”

Sasuke’s eyes focused back on his feet. “Is it just me or do Tenten and Neji seem different?”

Naruto waved a hand. “No, they’ve been dating since the summer.” He laughed, his breath coming out in short-lived clouds. “Isn’t that weird? Those two had like, nothing in common when we were younger and _they_ ended up together.” He looked over at Sasuke, who was quiet again. He remembered how Neji left the table as soon as Sasuke showed up. He’d been doing that a lot, lately. “Hey, Neji’s _really_ not that bad, Sasuke. If you two would just try, you guys might get along really well.”

Sasuke shook his head.

It was a long time ago, but Sasuke and Neji didn’t share the same recovery story as Sasuke and Naruto did. It wasn’t something Sasuke was particularly proud of, and in hindsight, he regretted ruining what could have been a valuable partnership. He and Neji were both intelligent students, and Sasuke’s disrespectful remarks at the older student left them in rivalry for years. As Neji grew through and out of his own personal problems and rekindled the relationships around him, Sasuke further distanced himself and lashed out.

When Sasuke crawled out of his hole, Neji seemed just unable to let go of the disrespect doled not only to him, but to his friends as well who had stayed loyal to someone as unworthy as Sasuke. Sasuke didn’t blame him, and he wasn’t going to disrespect him any further by trying.

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed again, the same way it did when he putting pieces together. “Did you kinda see something between Lee and...either of them?" Sasuke may not have been a master at communicating with people, but he was a natural at observing. He couldn't believe the year Neji, Tenten, and Lee returned to school with their now-standard sense of comradery. It was a major shift from the divided three they used to be. Sasuke guessed that they had all changed. "I can’t tell which but-”  
“Huh?” Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke winced at the volume of his voice. “ _Lee?_ I don’t know, they’re close but I didn't think...he would have told me if he liked one of them or something.”

Sasuke insisted. “Maybe you should ask.”

“I don’t know, I’m not seeing it.” Naruto scrunched up his face. “I’ll ask him, though.”

They reached Sasuke’s home, where a large two story house was planted in the middle of a beautiful and spacious lawn. Behind it sat an even larger expanse of wooded area. The Uchiha home was blocked off from the pavement and surrounding property by a large stone wall with an iron gate.

There was the unmistakeable sound of mewling, the gentle tinkle of bells, and two cats crawled their way through the gate and padded onto the sidewalk path. One was white with yellow eyes and scars all over its body, and the other was a black cat with green eyes. The two felines cuddled at Sasuke’s ankles with curled tails in the air, yowling happily as Sasuke reached down to rub their heads.

Naruto smiled down the Uchiha family cats and waved at them in greeting. They looked at him with wide eyes, but he knew better than to pet them. The last time he tried, one of them, the white one, had shown off its affinity for eating fingers. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sasuke.”

Sasuke straightened up and nodded at Naruto minutely before opening and passing through the gate to his family estate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU'VE REACHED THE END OF THIS CHAPTERRR!
> 
> so, in case it's not clear, spirits and humans do live in this world together, but i wouldn't say they coexist!  
> there's a lot of tension between them! and people with "spiritual afflictions," or supernatural gifts or powers, are kind of on the border in this universe.
> 
> i'm playing around with the jutsus and kekkei genkai and things like that as spiritual afflictions for this AU.
> 
> jinchuuriki are considered super duper dangerous, as always, unless it is clear that they are receiving help to suppress and control the demon inside of them. even if their control is evident, they still are not allowed in certain places like restaurants, theaters, and other places where it's thought they are a danger to other people.
> 
> if you have any questions, please ask away!


	3. Kurama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a threat on paper, and Kakashi returns check up on Naruto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to anyone who reading this!  
> comments, questions, and kudos are alwayyyyys welcome! <3

The schoolbell dismissed the final classes for the end of the day, and Naruto and his friends hung around in the parking for a bit before going home. None of them stayed long because the winter weather was truly beginning to settle into Konoha. The trees had been stripped of their leaves fairly early, and Lee was already lamenting the disappearance of migrating animals in the area. Sakura and Tenten left first because Mrs. Haruno expected them home early. Kiba and Chouji rushed their goodbyes as they both ran to catch their bus to Shikamaru’s house. Neji had only been waiting for Hinata to leave her tutoring session so he could drive her home. Naruto waved goodbye to Lee as he ducked into the passenger seat of Gaara’s car. Gaara looked so small driving. Naruto still couldn’t believe his friend had gotten a car before him, but Iruka refused to get him one until he passed the permit test.

He started his walk home, the drudgery of school replaced by the rejuvenating company of his friends. After sleeping on the couch because Naruto grew much too large and slept much too wildly for them to share a bed anymore, Iruka moved them to a new apartment. Naruto had his own room now, and it was closer to the school. Close enough to walk, which Naruto enjoyed, but sometimes Iruka insisted on driving him in bad weather.

In the small lobby, the newspaper guy was just leaving a stack of papers by the mailboxes. He grinned when Naruto entered. “Hey Naruto!”

Naruto waved at him in greeting, and looked at the fliers the boy dropped off. “You're back again today? What’s all this?”

“Oh, um,” the young man quickly snatched one of the articles and held it out for Naruto to take. “The boss called me back in to distribute _these_. They’re coming in from some other city, from some crazy anti-spirit group…” 

It was a single bright red page, with white bold letters:

 

**SPIRITS ARE NOT OUR FRIENDS!**

**JOIN US IN ERADICATING THE PLAGUE!**

**FIGHT AND PROTECT!**

**TEN.SIXTEEN - TEN.TWENTY**

**ELEVEN/THREE - ELEVEN/TWELVE - ELEVEN/FOURTEEN - ELEVEN/TWENTY-FIVE**

**TWELVE/TEN - TWELVE/FIFTEEN**

 

A sense of dread washed over Naruto. Eradicating? _Plague?_ Naruto’s thoughts immediately went to his friends like Gaara, Neji, and Sasuke. Who did these people think they were talking about?

The paperman was still talking. “I didn’t wanna put any of them out, I think it’s a load of trash, but the boss says information is information.”

“What...what are these numbers down here?” Naruto pointed at the column of numbers at the bottom of the page.

The paperman walked to Naruto’s side. “I think they’re dates,” he speculated. “But there’s no location or meetup place listed, so…” He watched Naruto flip the paper over to double-check. “I’m not sure.”

Naruto started to the elevator, but then remembered the flyer in his hands. “Here,” he returned it to the paperman. “I really don’t want it.”

  
  


The elevator hummed as it took Naruto up to the fourth floor. He still couldn’t believe what he’d just read. If it was someone’s idea of a joke, it was disturbing. But, if it was real…

Jamming his key in the lock, Naruto got the door open to his and Iruka’s apartment, kicking the door closed behind him and dropping his keys on the doorside stand with a noisy jangle. He kicked off his shoes and immediately made for his room, slinging his backpack onto his bed. He was pulling the hems of his shirt over his shoulders when he felt his phone buzzing in his back pocket. “Hello?”

“ _Dude!_ ” Kiba answered, and he sounded ecstatic, which was always a good sign.

“ _Keebs!_ ” Naruto exclaimed.

“Look, I’ll cut right to it: Shikamaru got the _coolest_ game on preorder and we’re all over here slobberin’ on the controllers, I swear-”

Shikamaru’s voice sounded vaguely over the other end of the phone. ”Slobbering on the controllers? Dude-”

“Shikamaru!” Naruto hadn’t seen the boy in a while. Shikamaru, along with Neji, had been found out as a genius while still attending middle school. They both tested out of grade school completely, but where Neji’s strict family demanded he stay in school anyway, Shikamaru simply dropped out. He worked a couple jobs out of boredom, but he became hard to get a hold of when Konoha committees began requesting his input in various real world matters.

“Aw, hey, man, Naruto says hi.” Kiba relayed Naruto’s excitement. He and Shikamaru went back and forth for a bit before Kiba snickered then turned his attention back to Naruto. “He says hey. Anyway! Yeah, you _need_ to get down here or you’ll kinda like regret it. No, you _will_. Experience this one day later than us and we’ll never let you live it down. Or at last, I won’t.”

Naruto grinned, even though Kiba couldn’t see it. “Alright, alright, I’m on my way!” He hung up as Kiba started hollering about combos. He rifled his dressers for a new shirt and grabbed his coat off the floor. Rushing to the door, he heard a familiar voice call out,

“Naruto?”

Naruto froze, bent over in the effort to squeeze his feet back in his sneakers without unlacing them. He turned and groaned at the sight of the white haired man standing at the kitchen threshold. “When did you get in here and why are you here?” He noticed at the small, black carrying case resting beside the door. “Didn’t I _just_ have a checkup?”

Kakashi raised a finger. “To answer your first question, you forgot to lock the door.”

Naruto mentally kicked himself.

“More importantly,” the detective continued, “Iruka told me he’d be staying late at the academy to grade papers, and he wanted me to come by and make sure you were doing alright.”

“Did he really send you to come watch me?” Naruto folded his arms. “I’m 17, I can watch myself!”

Kakashi simply stared back at him. “Sure.” He moved to grab his case. “And no, your last checkup was a month ago.” As he walked into the living room, Naruto followed him.

There was a sudden buzz in his pocket. He’d forgotten about Kiba and them that fast! “No offense, Kakashi, but you literally always pick the worst times to do this.” Buzz after buzz, Kiba was certainly trying to rush him. “I wanna go play games over Shikamaru’s house, can I get the test done after that?”

“Absolutely not.” Kakashi patted the back of Iruka’s reclining chair. “Let’s go.”

Naruto groaned through gritted teeth.

 

* * *

Kakashi’s thumb traced an invisible pattern on Naruto’s left forearm. “Nothing’s been bothering you? Joints, eyes, anything?”

The boy shook his head. “Nothing at all.”

They were facing each other, Naruto’s fists held out and up as if he were getting blood drawn. There were two small, circular patches stuck onto Naruto’s right arm. They were flat like band-aids when they were first put on, but in the span of a minute, they had become swollen with an orange substance they’d drained from Naruto’s body, like leeches. It didn’t hurt at all, and for the past six years they were Naruto’s favorite part of the test.

A slow nod from the detective, and with a straight line back down to his wrist there was a change of pattern. “Felt any different lately? Anything out of the ordinary? Woozy? Angry? Hungry?”

Naruto’s head cocked a bit to the side. “Hungry?”

Kakashi hummed. “Some people get cravings.” He gently pulled one of the full patches from Naruto’s other arm. It didn’t hurt at all. “For blood…” He removed the second. “Flesh…”

Naruto wanted to make a joke, but found himself shuddering a little. “No...no, I’ve been fine.”

“Good!” Kakashi smiled, starting the triangular pattern on his right arm.

As the Kakashi neared his elbow, something tugged at the back of Naruto’s memory, and his brows furrowed. “There is one thing.” When Kakashi didn’t look up, Naruto continued, “The demon told me it’s name. In a dream, I think.”

Kakashi’s mismatched eyes-- usually black, but the scarred left eye was red, with a black spinning wheel, like Sasuke’s, sometimes-- had always slightly unnerved Naruto. So far, he’d only revealed the red one during Naruto’s tests, apparently for safety. And with both eyes locked onto him so intensely now, Naruto felt like Kakashi was seeing inside of him.

“A dream?” Kakashi blinked. “How...how long ago was this?”

“Yeah, just a couple of nights ago.” Naruto clenched and unclenched a fist. “Kurama, it said.”

Kakashi was just starting to say something when the sound of the door opening had both their heads whipping around. “Naruto?” Iruka called from the entrance. “Are you in here?”

Naruto tore himself from the couch and ran to throw himself at the man. “Iruka!” He felt Iruka stagger back a little. Looking up at him, he fixed the man with an angry pout and loudly questioned, “Why’d you send Kakashi to come _baby_ me?” 

Iruka steadied himself, used to the boy’s enthusiastic greetings. “He made time to help me, Naruto.” Behind him, Kakashi carefully relieved him of his briefcase and shoulder bag. “Thank you, Kakashi,” Iruka sighed gratefully. He raised an eyebrow down at Naruto. “And you too, I wanted to get your test done so you wouldn’t have to do it this weekend. Actually, did you tell Kakashi you're fighting at school?”

Kakashi’s voice raised just a bit as he looked at Naruto incredulously. “Fighting?”

“Iruka!” Naruto felt a twinge of betrayal. He watched Iruka enter the kitchen, assumedly to begin making dinner, and realized Iruka was leaving him to fend for himself. He turned to Kakashi. “I wasn’t even _in_ this one! I was just watching!”  
  
Kakashi shook his head, placing Iruka’s belongings in the recliner Naruto abandoned. “Naruto, fights like that can be dangerous for your nature. We’ve talked about this.” He fixed Naruto with a disappointed glare and he knelt to put the test items away. “That kind of energy can get to your head, and unfortunately it doesn’t belong to just _you_ at the moment. You don’t know what could happen if things start upsetting it.”

Naruto was reminded of Tenten and Sakura rounding on him at the lunch table a week ago. “You’re all telling me the same thing but I’ve never had a problem with this!”

Kakashi stood. “You haven’t had a problem yet because you’re one of the lucky ones!” He threw up his arms. “You don’t understand how easy it is to lose control, and really hurt yourself or someone else. The last time it happened to you, you were a child, and it was Tenten that had to put up with it. You’re older now, and that beast is waiting to try something when you let your guard down.” Naruto might have gotten over it, but Kakashi was still shaken about the dream Naruto had. “You have no idea the damage you could do. If this seems so _far_ removed from you, ask your friend Gaara about it.”

Naruto stopped breathing. It was unfair to accuse Gaara of something like that now, after all he’d been through. Part of Naruto knew Kakashi was right, but the other part just couldn’t stand the insinuation. “Gaara’s gotten better,” he shot back, “and he hasn’t done anything like that in a long time-”

Kakashi pointed at him. “ _Luckily_ . And that’s been with a lot of help and restraint care. That’s my _point._ ”

Iruka came up behind Naruto, and gently grabbed his elbow. “Naruto…” He guided the boy into the kitchen, stopped him in front of the fridge. He waited a bit off to the side, in front of the counters, just watching Naruto’s face and waiting for him to make eye contact. He didn’t.

Iruka resumed chopping the vegetables he took out for dinner. Naruto watched the knife come down on a pair of carrots.

“I know it’s hard to hear, but Kakashi deals with these things all the time. He knows what he’s talking about, and he cares.” Iruka looked at the boy, and sighed. “Don’t confuse him talking about Kurama with him talking about _you_. He’s trying to keep you safe. If not me, you need to listen to him.”

Naruto already felt like he’d disappointed Iruka enough for one day, and he wasn’t sure if he was ready to speak to Kakashi again. He quietly left the kitchen.

“I’m going to do my homework.”

 

* * *

 

 

Naruto’s phone read 8:47 PM when he got the texts from Shikamaru. He’d completely forgotten about the whole video game thing.

_**Shika:** we gave choji your controller btw _

_he fucking SUCKS at video games so you can imagine how that went_

...

_what happened to you man?_

Naruto thought about telling Shikamaru what had gone on, but in the end, he didn’t really feel like dumping the whole issue on him. In hindsight, a lot of it felt silly to be angry about, but he was still getting over it. He sent an abridged version, a partial lie, and completely nixed Kakashi.

_iruka, homework :/_

Believable.

After the text was sent and marked read, Naruto’s stomach growled loudly. He looked up to stare at the plate of food Iruka had brought in about two hours ago. Out of stubbornness, and maybe a punishment to himself for giving Iruka so much grief, Naruto had vowed not to touch the food until he finished his homework. His math work was going to starve him out.

 

Half an hour passed before another text came through, this time from Sasuke.

_**Sas:** are you okay…? _

Naruto would have smiled if it wasn’t so uncanny. Sasuke did that a lot, he just seemed to know when Naruto wasn’t feeling well. It was weird how he always knew things like that.

_right on time_

_**Sas:** I figured. You seemed off earlier today but i didn’t wanna bring it up around everyone. What happened? _

Sometimes, Sasuke’s texts said more than Sasuke himself ever would in person and it was almost strange to know they were coming from him. It felt like a more personal side of him that only Naruto was being allowed to see. But it was welcome. And not that Naruto didn’t trust Shikamaru, but Sasuke seemed to invite the truth out of Naruto even if Sasuke rarely shared as much and as often.

_I just feel like a freak about the whole DEMON thing, you know?_

Sasuke’s reply came seconds after:

_well you are a freak_

Well, Sasuke could still be counted on to be a jerk, sometimes. Naruto made a face, starting to type a sarcastic reply back but pausing when the ellipses appeared. He waited for Sasuke’s message to appear.

_but you’re not a demon._

And another followed:

_No one thinks of you like that._

_Eventually they’ll take it out and you’ll be the same person you’ve always been._

The ellipses appeared again, but ultimately disappeared. Naruto could tell Sasuke felt like he’d said too much, and was waiting for Naruto to respond.

He smiled as he texted back,  _Looking forward to it!_

Suddenly noticing the weight on his chest was gone, Naruto added,

_Thanks sasuke_

_**Sas:** whatever. goodnight._

Naruto grinned and rolled off his bed, crossing the room to pick up his plate. He opened his bedroom door and heard a familiar commercial about a theme park playing down the hall. Iruka didn’t usually stay up so late after a long day at school. When Naruto poked his head into the living room, he expected Iruka to have fallen asleep on the couch watching some weird future fiction show because he loved that stuff. Instead, Iruka was lounging beside Kakashi. Kakashi never stayed at their apartment so late.

Neither Kakashi nor Iruka were actually watching the tv. Naruto could see they were talking, but they were speaking so quietly, he couldn’t hear a thing. When he saw Iruka swipe at his scar with the heel of his hand, he knew it was a topic that wasn’t making Iruka happy at all. Then, Naruto noticed, in front of them on the coffee table was one of those red papers. Fear and hatred spread through him like a fire, until his mind was burning with the need to know who created that flier.

Iruka noticed Naruto’s presence and smiled when he saw him. “I’m glad to see your appetite won out,” he chuckled good-naturedly, walking over to him. Kakashi swiftly took the paper and crumpled it in his hands.

Naruto couldn’t help but smile, full of fondness. Iruka just knew him so well. He didn’t argue as Iruka took his plate into the kitchen to reheat. He poised on the arm on the of the couch, and glanced over at Kakashi. Kakashi turned his head to look at him.

“I apologize for upsetting you.” He sounded like he meant it. Both of his eyes were dark now. He sighed softly. “It wasn’t my intention.”

“I know,” Naruto didn’t know what else to say. Kakashi had been right, and Iruka was right when he said Kakashi was looking out for his safety. “I freaked out a little…” He looked at the tv and caught a glimpse of an alien creature attempting to drag a man from a vent. “I’m sorry.”

Kakashi nodded, and faintly down the hall the freezer door closed. Iruka returned to the living room with three bottles tucked tightly under one arm and carrying a steaming dinner plate with the other hand. He let Naruto grab his plate before swatting the boy lightly on the shoulder.

“Oi, you don’t sit on that part of couch, Naruto.” He passed one of the chilled bottles to Kakashi, who leaned forward to take it eagerly. He watched Naruto settle on the floor nearly right in front of the tv and set another bottle on the coffee table. “Your drink’s behind you.”

Naruto nodded enough for Iruka to see and settled to watch the movie.

  
In the end, the human colony on the strange planet was overtaken by the aliens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooo we're still kinda missing a few characters here but i hope you guys enjoyed the little bit of plot that's been introduced!


	4. Warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's getting cold in the mountains, but the tension's heating up everywhere else!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Thanks a bunch you guys for the hits and kudos!  
> I really do appreciate it! <3

The winter had gripped the mountains firmly way out here. The path was overtaken by snow already, and the winds ran furiously down the mountainsides, whipping and howling. Jiraiya had the path ingrained in his memory, and the elements lacked the power to deter him.

The sun was setting when the slope of the trail finally flattened. Up here, the top of the mountain merged with the body of a large temple. The temple’s face was built apart from the natural rock, the entrance was decorated with ancient engravings, guardian slabs, and large, dark, stone snakes that were coiled protectively around each supportive pillar.

As Jiraiya approached the temple gates, someone was exiting, their arms hugged close to them, as if they were carrying something. The person was wearing a large maroon cloak, but the hood concealed their face from Jiraiya as they passed by. Jiraiya did catch a glimpse of the small pile of bones cradled delicately in their arms, however. The Mediator suppressed a shiver, and watched suspiciously as the person turned down a side road and out of sight. The ground was clear of snow, and worn with traffic under their feet. Jiraiya didn’t want to know what they were up to.

He climbed the stairs to the temple gates, feeling the ghosts of hands grabbing at his aura. He could sense the guardians, satisfied with his benevolent intentions, retreating back to their stone shrines planted in the ground.

The entrance gates opened to large, square foreroom. Jiraiya paused as he walked in on a number of beings staring back at him. They all had a passably human appearance, but for some, their eyes, which imitated the form but lacked a soul, gave them away. They seemed to have been simply playing games and talking with one another, and the vast majority of their human forms had translated into children. They were young spirits, and students at this temple. High up on a second floor, more of them peered over the dark banisters to look at the Mediator. Their auras were too young to do his own any harm, but they badgered at his curiously, all trying to read him.

Suddenly, the lights in the hall began to dim, and the students all began to rush around. Their hands grabbed for the cards and toys and coins that littered the hall. The few adolescent students present attentively watched their younger peers pick up after themselves, and guided them out either of the two halls branching off the left and right sides of the room. As the students ran down the halls, their child-like prattle turned into a frenzy of wild howls and bellows, and the footfalls of feet quickly became the padding of monstrous limbs. As Jiraiya stood in the darkening reception hall, the receding noise of the children was soon drowned out by a loud hissing.

“Back again?” Orochimaru’s voice seemed to come from everywhere in the vastness of the hall.

“Where are you?” Jiraiya asked irritably, his dark eyes searching the room warily but finding nothing. Left to rely on the fading sunset, the room was terribly dark in its corners and high ceiling. Jiraiya’s own shadow was stretched far in front of him. “I hate when you speak in the shadows like that.”

Two large, gold eyes seemed to glow on the second floor. “Here to pass off another one of your little warnings?” There was the shifting sound of a serpentine body dragging itself down the wall and hitting the floor. Jiraiya froze; he’d always been afraid of snakes. “Don’t worry,” Orochimaru added, stepping out into the orange glow of the light. “I’ve seen their  _ silly _ little fliers.”

Orochimaru looked fairly human. Purple sage markings around his eyes stood out strongly on his pale skin, and waist-length black hair framed his thin face. The only thing that challenged his appearance were his eyes; deceptive disks of gold surrounded eerie slitted pupils that pierced into whatever he looked at. Orochimaru was a Mediator like a Jiraiya, with the spiritual ability to shapeshift, and the temple and mountains belonged to him.

Jiraiya’s voice was heavy with agitation. “You  _ really _ need to listen to me, you know. I’m-”

Orochimaru cut him off, looked away, even. “You must be  _ tired _ of climbing this mountain.” He slowly began to walk a wide circle around Jiraiya. “Don’t you need rest, in your old age?” he grinned cruelly,a flash of his sharp fangs, a gleam in his snakelike eyes.. “With that  _ worn _ body?”

“Stop changing the subject.” Jiraiya snarled. Orochimaru simply laughed, his amusement devoid of warmth. “There’s a battle headed this way, a  _ real _ one,” Jiraiya tried again, his voice grave. “The children here are in danger.” He looked out into one of the side halls, where two students ran past, shouting playfully, their voices echoing loudly through the quiet temple. When Jiraiya looked back, Orochimaru was gone, and the heavy dragging sounded above him again. It echoed all around him. The Mediator felt his rage claw its way into his throat as he yelled, “Your students are in  _ danger _ , do you  _ hear _ me?”

“No, Jiraiya,” The dark-haired sage spoke from behind Jiraiya now. “The only ones in danger are the ones foolish enough to approach my gates.”

Jiraiya didn’t have to guess his meaning. He turned his head to glare back at Orochimaru. “You intend to fight back.”

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. “My students  _ want _ to learn to fight back. Who am I to deny them?” He sneered before stepping away again, disappearing into a shadow cast across the hall by a large interior column.

“These people have already taken lives,” Jiraiya pleaded up to the ceiling, his fists clenched. “The kids here don’t know what they’re up against!” He argued over the sound of the thundering slithering, over the looming and ominous feeling of eyes all around him. “They need a chance to live without ever knowing it!”

“ _ You _ mean they need a fantasy world to live in, Jiraiya.” Orochimaru’s voice rasped harshly throughout the hall. “My students have seen how the world  _ really _ sees them, and I will show them how to  _ really _ deal with it.”

Behind Jiraiya, the gates opened. The room went silent. The Mediator turned to see the cloaked person from before enter quietly. They knocked their shoes on the ground to rid them of the snow and ice packed against the sole.

“Ah, Kabuto…” Orochimaru was standing beside Jiraiya now. He held a hand out to the person who just came in. “Could my apprentice get you anything?”

Jiraiya watched as pale hands reached up to lower the maroon hood. It was a young boy who, through large round glasses, stared back at the visiting Mediator expectantly. His hair was grey, and his skin was unnaturally white. Jiraiya realized with shock that the boy’s eyes looked very much like Orochimaru’s. Gold. And slitted. They focused on him with a deadly interest that made Jiraiya’s blood run cold.

“No, thank you.” Jiraiya held up a hand to Kabuto. “I should be going.” He lowered his voice as he added, scowling back at Orochimaru, “I see I’m still not getting anywhere with you.” He turned to leave through the gates, noting that Kabuto was already gone.

“Always so quick to leave, Jiraiya.” Orochimaru spoke to his back. “But don’t worry...”

Behind him, Jiraiya could feel Orochimaru’s chilling presence being replaced by the threatening aura of something much worse. He could hear the beast hiss and slither back up the walls.

“I’ve taught my students the value of a backbone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was a little on the short end, I was fighting myself with a lot of ways to do this chapter!  
> I wanted to break from Naruto's point of view to show how things are affecting everyone else in other places as well!
> 
> I figured now was a good time as any to bring Jiraiya back from the prologue as well!  
> We needed a, uh, professional opinion on that mysterious red flier! :P
> 
>  
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed! Leave a comment, and tell me what you think! <3


	5. Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kurama gives a warning.

The winter was slowly taking Konoha within its grasp but somehow Iruka’s bedroom was hot. The covers seemed scratchy against his bare legs, and as he tossed and turned, the sensation became painful, like thorns pricking at his skin. He kicked the covers from his body, his eyes snapping open with frustration.

It was ridiculously hot. It was too hot. Iruka thought maybe he’d nicked the thermostat up too high, but it hadn’t really been that cold for him to have turned the heat up; this heat felt unnatural, anyway. Like he was sitting right in the middle of a fire. He wanted to get up, but panicked when he realized he was frozen to his bed, his eyes the only parts him able to move.

There was the roaring of blood in his ears. He thought, maybe, he was having night terrors. He’d gotten them a lot after his parents passed, and they’d ebbed away when he was a teenager. But even as he tried to reason with himself, to steady his pounding heartbeat, he found he wasn’t able to hold a thought, like every idea was being ripped from his brain before he could finish it, leaving him with a encompassing fear and loneliness. He thought there was sweat at his forehead, but it never ran down his face.

There was a heavy, growl of a whisper. His heart jumped so hard he thought he might throw up, but he still didn’t move. The growling continued. He couldn’t understand what was being said. He could feel something in the room with him, but, his eyes darting around with fear, he found nothing. His bed burned underneath him. Around him, the walls seemed to come alive, growing upwards and shifting inwards, closing him in, trapping him, no-  _crushing_ him-

“Iruka!”

He was awakened by hands on his chest, so cold in comparison to his burning skin, the feeling like ice pressed against his nightshirt.

The fires were out, his room was coming into focus. And above him, troubled eyes, and a mass of white hair illuminated by the bedside table lamp. “Ka…” Iruka’s throat felt dry and strangled. "Kakashi?”

Kakashi’s shoulders relaxed, but the Sharingan continued to glow. “I’m sorry if I scared you.” He slowly removed his hands from the other man’s chest.

Iruka noticed his heartbeat was slowing, but chest seemed to ache. Badly. “Oh, _god_ ,” he groaned into his palms, burying his face in his hands.

“Are you...okay?” Kakashi started as Iruka sat up slowly, like he anticipating catching him. ”You’re sweating.”

He was. Iruka’s shirt clung to his back, and he could feel the uncomfortable stick as he detached himself from the damp sheets.

“Just...god, it was a...bad dream, I _think_.” Iruka dragged a hand down the front of his face. He wasn’t sure if it was a dream. It had felt real, too real. He could still feel how scared he’d been. He shuddered as he spoke again, ”I didn’t...scream or anything, did I?”

“No, you just...sounded like you were choking.” Kakashi finally sat down on the end of the bed, reading the other man with his eyes.

Choking? He’d been _choking?_ Iruka felt his stomach twist up with dread. Though it was the last thing he wanted to imagine, he couldn’t help thinking of what might’ve happened if it hadn’t been a dream, and if Kakashi hadn’t been there. It didn’t seem like Naruto had been woken up, either, and that was...troubling.

Iruka tried to pull himself out of his dream state. His room was actually a little cold. Shaking his head, partly to appease Kakashi, partly to clear his own mind some more, Iruka let out a deep breath. “I’m, gonna take a shower, I-” He stopped, dropping the rest of his thought, and sighed. “Thank you, Kakashi. I’m sorry I worried you like that.”

“It’s fine…” Kakashi watched him rise from the bed and remove his shirt before adding, “Are you _sure_ you’ll be okay?”

“I think I’ll be _fine_ in the shower by myself,” Iruka told him, rummaging through his drawers for a towel while Kakashi snickered behind him. Straightening up, Iruka glanced at his bedside clock. “Shit, it’s so early! I’m-I’m sorry, you-” He stopped his sputtering with a frustrated groan. He rubbed at the scar on his face with the heel of his hand. He couldn’t get the words out, he was thinking about so much at the same time. He still felt a little shaken by this whole thing.

Kakashi simply watched him and waited. Truthfully, he worried Iruka would pass out or something like that.

Iruka moved to stand at the bedroom door. “You get back to sleep,” he spoke gently. “You leave tomorrow, remember?”

Kakashi watched him quietly slip out the door, towel around his neck and soap in hand. But Kakashi wasn’t through just yet, and quickly scanned the room for signs of, well, anything. He hadn’t wanted to mention it to Iruka, and he was sure Iruka was turning it around it his own mind already, but Kakashi’s first thoughts were immediately of Kurama.

Had it been any other person, any other case, and any other home, Kakashi could have chalked the whole thing up to a lack of seals and maybe an incomplete set of ward stones. But this was Iruka, and even Kakashi had been impressed when he’d sensed the buffer of protection his aura had gotten when he first began visiting. On top of that, Kakashi had given Iruka extra advice to keep Naruto’s situation under control. So, no, it wasn’t a protection issue at all.

It was just the demon’s nature. As Kakashi carefully rifled through Iruka’s work desk (which he never really used; he just ended up grading things on the couch or back at the school), he kept replaying what Naruto had told him a couple of weeks ago. The demon had spoken to him directly, in a dream, and Naruto had understood it. Demons, especially ones that powerful, never revealed their name unless they were comfortable, confident, and ready to communicate with their host. Or others. And if Naruto had started speaking back to it, even unconsciously in his dreams, he could encourage the thing.

Kakashi moved to turn on another lamp, hoping more light would help him find something. When none of the drawers gave him anything of interest, Kakashi got down to check under Iruka’s bed. The very center of the bed’s shadow seemed unnaturally dark. Kakashi reached a tentative hand out and scratched two fingers at the wood floor. The area was gnarled, and hard, like it had been burnt.

As he ducked out from under the bed frame, Kakashi suddenly realized it was dark again. The lights had gone out. In the quiet, however, Kakashi could hear the shower still running. He slowly got to his feet and pulled the bedside lamp cord. The light came back on. Simultaneously, there was a pressure, a lethal one, circling his aura, testing him. There was no other being in the room for it to belong to, but he already knew whose it was.

Kakashi knew, without a doubt, that this was bad. He left the room and made his way down the hall. He stood in front of Naruto’s room, reading the seals around his bedroom door. None of them had been tampered with. Kakashi took the door handle and turned it fully, leaning his shoulder on the door to open it silently. Inside, Naruto was sleeping just fine. Snoring, even. The Sharingan eye let Kakashi see that the seals in the boy’s room had gone untouched as well. He knew it hadn’t been a seal problem. Kakashi retreated and closed the door behind him, shuffling his way back to the couch. The living room was set across an opening in the hallway, and Kakashi could see Iruka’s bedroom door if he lay with his feet to the hall. The door seemed to stare back at him.

Pulling up the comforter Iruka had given him for the night, Kakashi didn’t even try to settle his mind as he lowered himself back onto the couch. Tomorrow, he was set to leave Konoha with Gai, in an effort to track down the author, or authors, of that note. They’re be gone for at least two weeks. Kakashi wasn’t worried about that, he was worried about Naruto and Iruka while he’d be away. He’d had to stay overnight more than a few times to keep a closer eye on them, and tonight had proved exactly what he’d been suspicious of. Kurama had been rather dormant for the past few years, but instead of delighting him, like Kakashi feigned often for Naruto, it only made him anxious.

There was no room for second-guessing- Kurama was communicating _now_ , for some reason, and working _beyond_ the seals set in place. Kakashi knew Iruka’s sudden nightmare was linked to the beast as well, and that it’s aura was targeting the teacher for some reason as well.

The shower knobs squeaked in the quiet of the apartment, and the water came to a stop. Kakashi knew he couldn’t leave them alone while he was gone, not really. Iruka wasn’t incompetent, but he was also being attacked while he was vulnerable, and Naruto wasn’t aware of what was going on. Kakashi would have to call in for another Mediator to come and drop in, someone experienced and trustworthy, who wouldn’t just send Naruto away after one incident.

Kakashi knew just the guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've got another short chapter after this, it's more sasuke-centric, so if you've been waiting to see lil ol' duckbutt, he's on his way lmao
> 
> also wooooo!!! i hope you guys are still enjoying!  
> please feel free to leave a comment, drop a kudo, or ask a question! i enjoy you guys' feedback a lot! <3


	6. Chill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee and Tenten talk a bit.

Rare patches of dull reds and yellows were all that remained of the autumn season, brittle leaves littering the neighborhood street. A dusting of snow had finally come down. It was a small warning of what was to come. Tenten stood stiffly on the front steps of Gai’s house, her frame buried under layers of cotton. She forgot her gloves in her room and now nothing could make her take her hands from the warmth of her coat pockets.

After what seemed like forever, she heard the front door open and close behind her. She watched over her shoulder as Lee fumbled with his keys to lock the door. He shook the handle, just to be sure.

With a weak stamp of her foot, Tenten hurried him. “You already kept _me_ waiting, let’s get to Neji’s place already.” She made her way down the porch steps carefully. As Lee quickly fell in step beside her with a laugh, she only nudged him playfully with her elbow. When he fell silent, she only looked him over once before asking, “Something up?”

“What do you mean?” Lee nervously grappled at the scarf around his neck. He stretched the garment and picked at the threads as they walked. His eyes met hers briefly before he fixed them back on his hands.

“And would you stop with the scarf, you’re gonna stretch it out!” Tenten watched as Lee reached up to pull at the tassels of his wool hat. She ignored that, despite the urge to chew him out for potentially ruining a nice hat, too. “What happened?”

Lee made a face, the trouble one. It consisted of a mild pout, averted eyes, and the lowest eyebrows he could manage. He only held it as long as he was debating with himself whether or not to say what was on his mind. He pulled the tassels of his hat so taut that the zigzag patterns were stretched into rows of straight lines. “I…” He shook his head before shrugging dismissively.

“Hey, hey, whoa,” Tenten put a hand on his shoulder and they both stopped walking. “You can tell me anything, you know that, right?” Tenten rolled her eyes, but her voice was soft and lacked frustration. They’d become experts at reading one another and Tenten knew a nervous Lee when she saw one. Being pushy wasn’t gonna get her anywhere right now.

“Yeah,” Lee mumbled. “I know.” He raised his hand just slightly, palm up, and Tenten took it. They started walking again. “Gai’s really upset with me.”

It wasn’t what she thought she’d hear, but Gai and Lee’s relationship was a bit of hot topic lately. “Did he say something to you before he left?”

Lee shook his head. “Nothing really, but I _felt_ like he wanted to.” They reached the end of the sidewalk on a red light. Lee impatiently kicked up some snow. “I just feel like he’s disappointed in me.”

Tenten thought about what she would say next. She squeezed his hand gently, supportively. She knew how much Gai meant to him, a boy with no parents (Lee was like her in that way, and that was why they’d been drawn to each other as kids). Anyone who made the mistake of asking knew who Lee’s hero was, who he most wanted to be like. The two were anchors for one another, and they built off of one another. And if what she overheard from Sakura’s parents were true, they changed each other’s lives for the better. She couldn’t imagine what it felt like to let down the person who’d become like your blood parent.

“Maybe you could quit fighting everyone at school.” Before he could retaliate, Tenten added, “Seriously, Lee. Your grades are fine but Iruka’s got you in his office like every other week. And you’re lucky it’s him and not Suzume, cause she’d’ve had you expelled by now.” They were both silent as the light turned green and as they crossed the street. Two blocks down, Tenten asked, “What’s really wrong? You’ve always been up for a challenge but lately it’s so unlike you to be _this_ stubborn...” She recalled a lot of similar fierce streaks from Lee in their childhood, but a lot of those problems had been taken care of. She liked to think that they had a better grasp of responsibility now. None of them- her, Lee, or Neji -were anything the way they were as when they were kids (she was't sure why, but she always thought of the three of them as a unit). She really felt like she was missing something that Lee wasn’t telling her. “You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone, you know that right?” That was the only thing she could think of to say.

“I...” Lee seemed at a loss, too. Unfortunately, that was the only sign Tenten needed to know she’d been right.

They didn’t speak for another short while, as they neared the bus stop that would take them around Neji’s house. Lee sighed. “Can we talk about this some other time?” Before letting it go, he squeezed her hand roughly, not intentionally, but Tenten didn’t notice anyway; she was used to it.

  
“You...okay.” She wanted know more, but she knew wouldn’t get anymore out of him. “Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was part of an even larger chapter but i couldn't cut the shit down or make it fit lmao  
> i didn't see any harm in uploading this short bit that i liked!  
> this story really is kinda just a patchwork of drabbles but i hope you all enjoy it anyways! <3
> 
> also is my ot3 obvious yet, i dunno


	7. Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke's worried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys so much for still keeping up with this!
> 
> the attention it's gotten so far has made me smile!   
> this is just something im doin for fun so i'm happy some of you are enjoying it, too! <3

Sasuke glanced at the large wall clock mounted on the wall across from him. He shifted his eyes to stare at his cousin, Shisui, who had been meticulously pinning columns of photos to the wall and was now staring at them. “Can we head out _now?_ ”

Shisui didn’t turn away from the wall, kneeling to inspect some photos he’d pinned a little lower. “My, you’re impatient.” He waved Sasuke over. “Come help me pick a few, then we can leave.”

Sasuke looked over all the photos quickly. They were captures of wistful crowds and marvelous green landscapes. “What are these ones for?”

“Just for tourists.” Shisui told him simply. “This set is going in the city’s gallery.”

Sasuke made a face and folded his arms. “I’ve never seen any of these places before.”

“Some of these places, no, but…” Shisui reached over Sasuke’s head to gently pluck a photograph from the wall. “A good photographer can make your home look unfamiliar.” He lowered his arm to hold the picture in front of Sasuke’s face. “That’s by the cove out near the docks, there’s the typhoon shrine grounds...see?”

“I guess…”

“Well, pick two out of each row so we can get going.” Shisui patted Sasuke’s shoulder then stepped back, waiting.

“Mm...these two…” Sasuke felt a small flutter of pride as his first two choices were taken from the wall without argument. “I would’ve liked that one but it’s too dark.” He pointed at a photograph of a line of three trees in the woods.

“There was a storm coming in that day.” Shisui gave a half-shrug. “I could fix it on the computer, you know.”

“Your photos are great without touching up, that one just didn’t make it.”

Shisui laughed, both impressed with Sasuke’s seriousness and amused by it. “Okay, last two?” He raised an eyebrow as Sasuke handed him his final favorites. Shisui tilted his head as he looked at the photos in his hands. “I wouldn’t have picked that one, but we’ll see what the boss says.” Sasuke left his side before Shisui could blink. “Don’t forget your scarf!”

 

 

There was a soft and sparse blanket of snow on the ground when Sasuke and Shisui left out to the market. It was morning, but Sasuke predicted they’d be back by late afternoon, given Shisui’s inclination to walk everywhere.

_“The car’s over there!” Sasuke had called out, already halfway across the lawn towards his parents’ car._

_Shisui was already at the gates when he called back, “And? We’ve got legs!”_

Sasuke hated walking to the produce market, really. It gave everyone else way too many opportunities to try and speak to him. Or, even worse, to speak to his sweet-mannered cousin, who’d chat up anyone who approached him. But Shisui liked to walk, so they walked.

On the way, Sasuke didn’t see anyone that he knew, which was good. He knew he wasn’t going to be in the mood for any of his classmates trying to be friendly with him. He chalked it up to the weather; no one would be out walking to the market if they could drive. Maybe Shisui’s walking thing wasn’t so bad after all. Sasuke couldn’t believe his luck when the market crowd ended up being smaller than normal.

They’d just headed for the isles when the store manager, an older man that Sasuke remembered working there since he was very little, waved his hand to get Shisui’s attention. Sasuke waited awkwardly as, like he feared, Shisui left him to go speak to the manager.

He couldn’t stop the small sense of worry as Shisui’s smile slowly fell as the manager started talking. They seemed to speak in hushed voices after that, moving off to the side of the traffic area. Shisui reached up to barely touch his own face, absent-mindedly, before folding his arms and asking the man a question. Sasuke couldn’t hear a thing they were talking about, but he suddenly wanted to leave. He looked around just to busy himself, but after making eye contact with a few people, he stopped, a sense of irritation building up inside him. When he looked back over at Shisui, the manager was handing Shisui a piece of paper. It was red, with lettering that Sasuke couldn’t make out from where he was standing. Shisui glanced at the paper for only a second before fearfully staring at the man. The old manager shook his head and said something, gesturing at the paper angrily.

Shisui seemed frozen until the man squeezed his shoulder gently. Sasuke met his cousin’s eyes, and watched the manager walk away. Shisui finally joined Sasuke again.

“I think we should wait to get everything tomorrow, instead.” Shisui made his way to the entrance. Sasuke glanced back to see the manager looking at both of them, wringing his hands nervously. He held up a hand, as a goodbye, and Sasuke saw something sad and tense in his face, but he didn’t return the gesture. He followed Shisui out of the market.

 

 

“Shisui,” Sasuke called out as he made his way his way down the steps (skipping the last two), stopping in the living room. “What is that?” He looked at his cousin sitting on the couch, that red paper in his hands. On the short living table in front of him, his work laptop sat open but disregarded.

Shisui folded the paper in half, and quickly decided between feigning ignorance or telling Sasuke. “It’s nothing, little bird.” He tried to just drop the subject, smiling gently. It didn’t work. Sasuke folded his arms and waited. “At least not anything I want you to concern yourself with right now.” Shisui smiled only a little bit, but didn’t return to his laptop. He was waiting for Sasuke to move along.

“It got us kicked out the store,” Sasuke snapped. “I wanna know.”

“We weren’t…” Shisui didn’t finish his sentence. ”I’ll tell you, but I’m not giving you the paper. You’ll obsess over it.” He patted the couch cushion next to him, and watched as Sasuke sat beside him. “There’s a group out there somewhere that’s trying to fight spirits, and people with spiritual gifts, like us.” Shisui folded the paper into halves again. “These people aren’t from Konoha, but everyone’s worried that their ideas could have an impact here.”

After he said that, he was quiet, which Sasuke appreciated. He liked that his cousin gave him time to think about it. He didn’t talk for a while, because he wasn’t sure what to say that Shisui didn’t already expect from him. It wasn’t like either of them were unfamiliar with people who were uncomfortable around spirits; when Itachi left Konoha just two years ago, they got plenty of calls and emails about how different the other cities were to him. He’d stopped exercising his Sharingan for the most part, last they heard from him. So, Sasuke wasn’t surprised, not at first. But the more he thought, the more unsettled he grew. Today alone had just been so weird for him, and top the day off with this flyer was just...strange. He personally wasn’t afraid of running into these people, but he did think about more obvious targets, like Gaara, and Naruto. Especially Naruto. He wondered if he’d seen one of those fliers (nah, he would’ve heard about it by now, right?). He wondered again about Itachi, if he’d call again soon. For a second, he even considered Neji and Hinata. Was the Hyuga family concerned about this?

This all felt like rolling clouds signaling a distant storm coming, like if he thought long enough he'd arrive at some terrifying conclusion that he couldn't quite see yet. A nausea grew in the pit of his stomach again and he wasn’t sure if he should mention that to Shisui. He took a deep breath and wiped his thoughts, starting back from the beginning. All in all, It still hadn’t made sense for the man to kick them out the store. “What’s that got to do with-”

“We weren’t kicked out the store, he was warning us.” Shisui cut him off quickly, but gently. “I decided to leave. You can’t be angry with him.”

 

* * *

 

The parking lot really wasn’t Sasuke’s favorite hangout, but he couldn’t help it today. Naruto had said they would walk over to Iruka’s place together, but now he was stuck with Lee in tutoring, and Sasuke’s misfortune didn’t end there. The only other person in the lot besides himself was Neji. He was half-seated, half-leaning against the hood of his car, and since Hinata had gone off with Kiba and Shino and Tenten had been dragged to a concert with Sakura, Sasuke rightfully guessed Neji was driving Lee home. They had a generous few feet of space between them, but it didn’t seem ideal enough for Neji.

Every so often, his eyes - pupil-less, bright - would catch on Sasuke, or the air around him, or the ground between them both. His expression was frustratingly unreadable. Did he want to say something? Was he waiting for Sasuke to say something?

He didn’t have to worry about that, Sasuke wasn’t saying _anything_. For both their sakes.

The hour seemed to drag in its duration. When the loud click of the back exit door sounded, both Sasuke and Neji looked up to see Naruto and Lee waving at them.

“Oh, hey Sasuke!” Lee seemed to show off every one of his white teeth with the grin he flashed at Sasuke.

His happiness was a little infectious, and Sasuke was grateful for Lee’s chipper mood against Neji’s agitated one, and found himself giving a small wave in return.

Naruto glanced over at Neji, ready to greet him, but he was preoccupied with his phone. Naruto mumbled something to Lee, some inside joke that awakened something in Lee and had him comically reciting a couple lines from what Sasuke assumed was a movie, though he’d never seen it. They started some sort of staged false argument, and launched into a pretend fight. Sasuke watched the two act out slow motion punches and made up combos, improvising a battle that Sasuke could only call creative.

It was cut short (or just in time) as Neji pushed off his car, tucking his phone into his back pocket. “Quit it,” he stated plainly. Lee’s concentration broke as he turned around to acknowledge his friend, Naruto stumbling off to the side. “I have to get groceries to make dinner tonight.”

Sasuke had never been over the hyuuga household before, but he’d heard that the family had a lot of rules and traditions. He knew Hinata and Neji were treated radically different, and had certain responsibilities put them. From what he heard from Naruto and Sakura, Neji seemed to always be doing things for the whole house, from cleaning to helping his cousins make food for the whole family.

“I want to leave now.” Neji opened the driver door, ready to go.

Lee didn’t argue though, he just nodded to Naruto and Sasuke and made his way over to the other side of Neji’s car. “Can I help?” he asked, making Neji pause as he started to dip into the car. His subtle head shake prompted Lee’s next question. “Well, what am I supposed to do while you’re making dinner?”

Neji gave a one-armed shrug. “You can stay in my room til the food’s done. Your mats and weights are still in there.” He rolled his eyes with inhuman force as Lee immediately went off about the benefits of a new workout plan he’d been plotting. Neji checked his phone one last time as Lee got in the car, sighing impatiently at his screen. When he got in the driver’s seat, he gave Sasuke one last look as he closed the door.

The unease in his gaze flooded Sasuke with the feeling of an approaching storm again. He hadn’t felt it since he and Shisui’s trip to the market and Sasuke was put-off by the sensation of deja-vu.

 

* * *

 

The elevator at Naruto’s apartment made Sasuke nervous. There was nothing wrong with it, really. It didn’t make a weird sound or shake, but lately everything was making Sasuke nervous. At least anything that had to do with Naruto. Sasuke looked at the boy standing next to him. He was talking about something, just filling the silence, but it wasn’t something Sasuke was really interested in.

Naruto had been mostly quiet about the red flier that had gone around a week ago. Sasuke didn’t think that Naruto had quite gotten over it, especially after Iruka-sensei and the other teachers had made placating announcements at school, ensuring every class that everyone would be safe and the issue was being investigated. Everyone had gotten pretty quiet about it after that. But still. _Naruto_ wasn’t talking about a very real threat against his life? Sasuke wouldn’t go as far to say that he was the only person that still cared about the damn piece of paper, but he sure _felt_ like it.

“Are you spending the night?”

Oh. Sasuke hadn’t been listening. “What?” He realized they were already outside Naruto and Iruka-sensei’s door. He’d been on auto-pilot the entire walk from the elevator, lost in his thoughts.

“I _said_ are you spending the night? I think it’s supposed to snow again.” He turned to jab his key into the double locks. He must have forgot to wait for Sasuke’s answer that fast because he rambled on. “Iruka’s gonna make dinner for you if you do, most likely. He always makes too much for just us anyhow. I don’t know what he’s making tonight but-”

Before they could both clear the threshold, both boys were rushed by dogs. A _lot_ of dogs. Naruto made it into the hallway of the living area, but Sasuke had barely gotten through the door before cute fuzzy paws pressed at his middle and cold wet noses sniffed at his raised hands. When did Naruto get so many dogs? They weren’t here last time he was over. He heard Naruto laughing excitedly.

“Whoa, _look_ at all of you guys!” He bent down and fell back on his butt as a particularly large jowly one overtook him. Sasuke thought that one was cute too but he was really hoping it wouldn’t drool on him like it was on Naruto. “Hey, Sasuke, these are Kakashi’s dogs!” Sasuke was familiar with Kakashi. He was a detective who also was helping out Naruto with the spirit thing. The few times he was over while Kakashi was present, Sasuke just got the impression the man was a little lazy and an asshole. He was also pretty sure the guy liked Iruka a lot and Sasuke didn’t really like that Iruka was enabling a guy as undeserving as that. “I’m- oh man, I’m sorry, I actually don’t know _what_ they’re doing here-”

“Naruto?”

Sasuke’s head snapped up as he heard Iruka-sensei call out.

“I’m in!” Naruto replied loudly. He chuckled as a small brown mutt started teething on his fingers. “I brought Sasuke with me, too!”

Iruka emerged from a room with a binder and pen in his hand. It was red, so it was his work pen. Sasuke wondered if he ever stopped working. When he was close enough, Iruka patted his own thigh with his free hand and all eight dogs crowded his side, eagerly awaiting his attention. “Hey, Sasuke! I’m sorry about the dogs!” He chuckled good-naturedly.

Sasuke shrugged with one shoulder. “They’re fine.” He watched the small pack’s butts wiggle with the power of their tails wagging. They were ridiculously cute.

“What are they doing here anyway?” Naruto singled out the little brown one with gentle hands and cradled him in his arms.

“Well,” Iruka rubbed the back of his neck. “It just seems like Kakashi’s going to be gone a little while longer, and I was just tired of going all the way to his house and back to take care of these guys…” A reddish dog persisted at Iruka’s side, shoving its white muzzle at Iruka’s palm. “They’re pretty good, so the landlady said they could stay here until he comes back.”

Naruto immediately began to holler over the dogs. “You guys are staying!”

“Naruto, please.” Iruka sighed, the dogs breaking from his side and rushing Naruto again. “You’ll help me walk them,” he started, as Naruto whistled repeatedly for a smaller dog to come to him. “They go out three times okay? Okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I hear you! Can I show Biscuit my room now?” He only waited for Iruka to begin to say yes before he bolted off.

Sasuke looked down as the big drooly dog came to greet him. Sasuke couldn’t help the prideful feeling as the beast of a canine nudged its head into his hand. He was much more gentle than he looked.

“Are you staying tonight?” Iruka smiled when Sasuke looked up at him. He’d bent down to properly scratch the reddish dog’s ears. “I understand if you don’t want to, with the, uh...full house.” He laughed again, sweetly.

Sasuke nodded his head. “I’ll stay.” He watched Iruka straighten up.

“It’s fish for dinner, you and Naruto can do your homework together while you wait.” Iruka laughed when Sasuke sucked his teeth. “That one’s name is Bull, by the way. He likes you a lot.”

Sasuke watched Iruka head into the kitchen before pulling off his shoes and walking past the rest of the dogs to Naruto’s room.

 

 

They didn’t pay much attention to the TV at all over dinner, but when Naruto was put on dish duty (Biscuit in tow), Iruka took advantage of his absence to switch the channel to the news station.

Sasuke wasn’t sure if he wanted to see what was going on. He thought again of the look Neji gave him, and the foreboding feeling that came over him. He thought about Itachi again. He should call him, in a couple of days, maybe. If Itachi doesn’t call first.

The news anchor mentioned Konoha’s side of the investigation and Sasuke turned his head to look at Iruka. The man was leaning an elbow against the arm of the couch, quietly observing the screen. Sasuke wondered if he worried about Kakashi. Gai had left with him on that investigation, too, and Sasuke wished he’d asked how Lee was doing last time he saw him.

Naruto came back with an armful of desserts for himself, which Iruka chastised him for, and groaned when he saw the news station playing. He started complaining that he and Kiba were going to start a game in a few minutes, but stopped when he the red flier was displayed for a moment.

The news anchor changed topics from the flier to a video shared from outside the city of Ame, where a small concentration of priests and Mediators trained and performed services. The flier Konoha seemed to have just received apparently had been circulating in the other cities for quite some time, and there had been a demonstration, or protest, that had gone wrong in the mountains. Did Kakashi and Gai have to travel all the way out there? Had they been in the middle of that? Iruka turned the channel as the images got violent, but Sasuke was quick to see someone take a bloody blow to the head. That storm...

“Alright, alright...” Iruka sighed as he rose from his spot on the couch. The reddish dog that had been napping beside him opened her eyes and watched him expectantly. “Don’t stay up late, you two.” He seemed to know that was a weird way to leave them and stopped on his way to his bedroom. “Naruto, Sasuke...I know these events are getting closer and closer to home, but don’t feel responsible, or scared of each other. That’s not for you to worry about.” He looked at the both of them, silent. He seemed to want to say something else, but couldn’t find the words.

“That’s kind of mysterious and scary, Iruka…” Naruto mumbled nervously. Sasuke nearly glared at him. Of all people, Naruto seemed to not get how serious this was.

Iruka smiled for Naruto, raising his hands. “Sorry. I guess I just didn’t want you dwelling on that video...”

“Well, Kakashi and Gai are out taking care of things, right?” Naruto was breaking a cookie into pieces and feeding them to Biscuit. “I think it’ll be okay.”

He was too preoccupied to see Iruka’s smile falter. Sasuke caught it. Iruka bid them goodnight again, and called for Uhei, the red dog, who sprung from the couch and raced into Iruka’s bedroom.

“I’m keeping my door open so keep it down, alright?” Iruka warned them, warily eyeing the way Naruto excitedly dragged the game controllers toward himself. “And don’t delete my save file again!” he snapped at Naruto, ironically loud. “On any of the games!”

Naruto made a face. “I won’t,” he responded, just as loud. “It was an accident last time!”

Their amusing interaction cleared Sasuke’s cloud of worry for the time, but when Iruka left them for good and Naruto began turning the lights out around the apartment, he found himself clouded with that persistent discontent again.  
He watched Naruto gracelessly lose two matches to Kiba, and a third that Shikamaru jumped into, before he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Naruto, I feel like something bad is gonna happen.” He looked at Naruto, who was just staring at him. He wanted to squirm under that stare. It still wasn’t as bad Neji’s, who seemed to look through him. He struck a foot out and got Naruto in the side. “Don’t just stare at me like that.”

Naruto recovered with a wheeze. “Sorry, it’s just…” He turned off the game, the colorful pause menu giving way to a bright blue screen. He put the controllers on the coffee table. “You and Iruka are both saying things like that. You’ve been acting weird lately, too.”

“What?” Sasuke thought Naruto hadn’t noticed. “ _You’ve_ been the one acting weird.”   
  
“How?” Naruto exclaimed, much too loud for the hour.

“Keep it down, idiot.” Sasuke his leg again, threatening to kick him again. Naruto flinched. “All this stuff with that paper, and you’ve been acting completely... _normal!_ ”

“What do you mean?” Naruto’s face got serious, and though Sasuke preferred it given the subject, he didn’t like it.

“You...you haven’t been talking about it. _No_ one has.” Sasuke folded his arms. “Iruka I get, he thinks we’re still babies so he doesn’t want us to worry about it. But you? Even Gaara, aren’t you guys worried?”

Naruto scratched the back of his head. “I am…” He watched Biscuit curl up beside him. “But you never asked me the past few days, you know? I didn’t even know _you_ were this concerned.”

Sasuke bit his tongue. That was more than fair. It really never crossed his mind to ask. Of course Naruto had been distracting himself.

“But anyway,” Naruto scooted closer to him. Sasuke nearly cringed; even after his disregard of the other boy’s feelings, Naruto was still trying to understand him. “Why are you saying that? That something bad’s going to happen?” Naruto watched his face intently, waiting for Sasuke to speak.

“I don’t know.” Sasuke averted his eyes. He thought about what he was going to say. “I just...keep getting this feeling. I’ve never felt like this before…” He felt like it even now, like the room was going to fall away and the floor would become a pit to swallow him up. He explained this to Naruto, then added, “All this stuff that happened just seems to point to the worst, and I have no idea what any of us are supposed to do about it.” He wasn’t sure how much else he should say. Naruto already seemed pretty freaked out. He certainly didn’t know how to tell Naruto that he was worried about him. “I mean, you don’t really think it’s all going to go away when Kakashi and Gai come back, do you?” He waited, but Naruto never answered.

They sat in silence with him for a while. Eventually Naruto got up and turned the tv off. “Hey, come on, it’s getting late.” Sasuke followed him through the dark to his room.

 

 

Naruto took off his shirt while Sasuke rummaged through his drawers for a second blanket because sharing in the past had been just completely stressful. When he turned around, he nearly ran into Bull, who had followed them. Sasuke rubbed Bull’s head, watching the dog blink sleepily up at him.

“I know he likes you but he can’t fit on my bed,” Naruto let Sasuke know in case he got any ideas.

“What?” Sasuke might have sounded a little defensive since he watched Biscuit curl up on the bed next to Naruto. It wasn’t fair. “He’d fit if you and that little thing weren’t on there.”

“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it!” Naruto’s words fell on deaf ears as Sasuke laid down with  his back facing him. “Bull’s just too big!”

“Whatever.” Sasuke watched as Bull lumbered over to his side of the bed and slowly lowered himself to the floor. He really wished the dog could fit on the bed.

Naruto sat up to turn the bedside light off but paused. “Sasuke?”

“What?”

“Everything’s going to be okay.”

Sasuke pivoted just enough to look over his shoulder at Naruto. They’d been through a lot, but the one thing he knew was constant was that Naruto always wanted the best for him. And right now, he was trying. And Sasuke wanted to believe that he was right, like he’d been all those other times. But… “Yeah.”

He turned back over, and Naruto turned the light off.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long ass Sasuke-centric chapter that technically was supposed to be out before the previous one, but!  
> also so sorry if this runs boring, i had a whole idea with this but i just lost it and didn't know how to salvage my original concept!  
> but, i think i got out some necessary details and stuff. :0
> 
> also apologies if the plot seems relevant to these dire political times, that wasn't my intention!

**Author's Note:**

> thank you all for reading!!! i hope you stick around for the next chapter! <3
> 
> anyways, i hope you guys liked it if you gave it a shot!  
> y'all can catch me at http://sin-no-jutsu.tumblr.com


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